Awesome. Can't wait to see how this progresses. I always loved X-Rattis back in the day. I used to buy lots of parts for them for my friends builds, when I did SCCA road racing back in the late 80's - early 90's. I think the guys shop was called Rapid or Rapido something. Unfortunately, I could never afford one of my own. Had to stick with the Rabbits and Golfs. Truly under-rated car back then. I always thought of them as a little brother to the SHO.

It's a 1985 with 130k ish mile's on the clock, I'm the third owner from new. I even found the original sales ticket in the glove box. It has been sitting un-plated, with a nice covering of dust, in a garage in Edmonton for the last 7 years. So the fuel is all hydrocarboned out and all the brake rubbers have perished, the brake fluid is more H20 than DOT3. Good job it is going to get stripped back to a bare shell and rebuilt.
The seller also included another fuel tank, prop shaft, steering rack, brand new clutch kit, full Ford/Merkur Factory workshop manual plus the sort after Electrical and Vacuum manual as well as a second set of wheels all for the princely sum of US$400. The interior is fantastic considering it is 31 years old and with all the original glass too, excluding the windshield it is from Alberta where we use river rock instead of salt on the roads. If anyone needs some glass or wants the interior give me a shout!
The only rust is where the door body moulding mounting holes are, but I will be getting rid of the moulding anyway and plug welding the holes up, as well as putting a new piece of metal where the sunroof is presently.
I used to work on both it's big brothers back in the UK when I was a Ford Tech in the late 80's so this is going to be a bit nostalgic, but hey still got a few contacts in Blighty to acquire less expensive go fast parts.

You'll have it ready for big white right (im kidding). Also you paid 400$ for this? I am envious. Kinda want one of these as a car to putz around in. Looking forward to seeing it out on a stage. Any motor plans? I think johns got a few cossie engines kicking around...

QuoteEric EwertYou'll have it ready for big white right (im kidding). Also you paid 400$ for this? I am envious. Kinda want one of these as a car to putz around in. Looking forward to seeing it out on a stage. Any motor plans? I think johns got a few cossie engines kicking around...

QuoteEric Ewert
You'll have it ready for big white right (im kidding). Also you paid 400$ for this? I am envious. Kinda want one of these as a car to putz around in. Looking forward to seeing it out on a stage. Any motor plans? I think johns got a few cossie engines kicking around...

It had crossed my mind to get it done for BW, I did build the Ranger in 12 days after all! I am going to do a complete strip of this one though, there is a lot of extraneous wiring that will be lost as well as a number enhancements to make it more reliable and easier to maintain.
It was Cdn $500, and I found more stuff in the car today when I was stripping it out.
As for a motor I think for a while an Ecoboost is out of the question for a number of reasons, I don't have the funds for a nice YB at the moment, and a Millington Diamond is about $32,000! So I think I will breathe on the 2.3, port the head a bit, use a front mount inter-cooler, probably get the Mega-squirt based Stinger stand alone ecu and loom setup. As well I will make it so the engine bay can get rid of all that heat that seems to kill rally Xr4Ti's over here.

QuoteEric Ewert
You'll have it ready for big white right (im kidding). Also you paid 400$ for this? I am envious. Kinda want one of these as a car to putz around in. Looking forward to seeing it out on a stage. Any motor plans? I think johns got a few cossie engines kicking around...

It had crossed my mind to get it done for BW, I did build the Ranger in 12 days after all! I am going to do a complete strip of this one though, there is a lot of extraneous wiring that will be lost as well as a number enhancements to make it more reliable and easier to maintain.
It was Cdn $500, and I found more stuff in the car today when I was stripping it out.
As for a motor I think for a while an Ecoboost is out of the question for a number of reasons, I don't have the funds for a nice YB at the moment, and a Millington Diamond is about $32,000! So I think I will breathe on the 2.3, port the head a bit, use a front mount inter-cooler, probably get the Mega-squirt based Stinger stand alone ecu and loom setup. As well I will make it so the engine bay can get rid of all that heat that seems to kill rally Xr4Ti's over here.

Wait you don't have 32000$ for a millington motor? Well, glad im not the only one. With that being said a naturally aspirated xr4 would be cool. In my mind atleast.

If you do end up going the mega squirt route I may have to pay a visit and see what's involved first hand if you're alright with it.

QuoteEric Ewert
You'll have it ready for big white right (im kidding). Also you paid 400$ for this? I am envious. Kinda want one of these as a car to putz around in. Looking forward to seeing it out on a stage. Any motor plans? I think johns got a few cossie engines kicking around...

It had crossed my mind to get it done for BW, I did build the Ranger in 12 days after all! I am going to do a complete strip of this one though, there is a lot of extraneous wiring that will be lost as well as a number enhancements to make it more reliable and easier to maintain.
It was Cdn $500, and I found more stuff in the car today when I was stripping it out.
As for a motor I think for a while an Ecoboost is out of the question for a number of reasons, I don't have the funds for a nice YB at the moment, and a Millington Diamond is about $32,000! So I think I will breathe on the 2.3, port the head a bit, use a front mount inter-cooler, probably get the Mega-squirt based Stinger stand alone ecu and loom setup. As well I will make it so the engine bay can get rid of all that heat that seems to kill rally Xr4Ti's over here.

Wait you don't have 32000$ for a millington motor? Well, glad im not the only one. With that being said a naturally aspirated xr4 would be cool. In my mind atleast.

If you do end up going the mega squirt route I may have to pay a visit and see what's involved first hand if you're alright with it.

Well just look at this and remember that's "only" about 235 hp

I think an awful lot of people here approach things thinking they need some vague "lots" of HP.
I think they are mistaken from listening to a lotta people talking a lotta bullshit.
What is needed is a "good" amount of hp and a lot of torque..
And a gearbox and final drive well matched..

And that's what you see there in that vid.

And NOBODY in North America is driving like that. Nobody.

There's of course 1000 ways to do that.

If I was doing an Xratty from scratch with such low miles I wouldn't touch the engine.. Just add Cosworth turbine housing, a 2wd intercooler, maybe 4wd Cossie compressor housing just cause the ends are straight no flange ends, a decent (MB Diesel) oil cooler---and that's it. Maybe Ford T-bird "Big VAM" and ECU..3" exhaust.
The the 2.95 gearset T5 box, Supra diff with 4.3 or 4.37 and move the pump into the spare tire well, fuel lines and brake lines where they belong..
That's it..
It'll go like that 240 in the vid.

No need for close ratio box in a turbo car with broad powerband..

N.A. I'd sure as hell shove in longer rods like these ----> 139mm c-c ones right here, pistons to match , probably one of the 3 16v heads I have with some "fun" cams, shoot for about 11.5 comp and 48 ITBs like I got you,
one of my Ford steel flywheels, a close ratio box---maybe 2.4 first, a Supra diff with 4.88

I'd sure as hell look at adapting the later Ranger distributorless set up so making a manifold would be a lot easier..

Then suspension and some brakes...and go for it..

Matt, 20 years ago in the mid 90s it was already hard as hell finding any 2wd rally stuff in the UK...very difficult and I made it my business and made a number of trips..Just wasn't around..
Plenty of 4wd stuff but the lack of 2wd stuff is one reason I started re-manufacturing the stuff..Anything I did find was insanely expensive and its gone UP since then due to scarcity and slime ball hoarders and scammers.
If you don't like my own stuff I'll sell you some genuine 909 stuff I have for a nice price. Very low miles, zero competition miles on some. I'll even raise the price just so its like back in the UK so you'll feel better.

As for the heat thing and "unreliability"...a friend in Michigan, Colin McCleery, he ran his bone stock unopened--un-fucked with---Xratty something like 47 events before he just decided to go Ford V8..
.I think the operative word here is un-fucked with...Of course he was in his late 30s to early 50s...and obviously didn't believe he "needed" 300+ HP..
47 events.
Only real mod was he got s cousin up in Belfast to send him a 2wd diff out of a ex-Police Cossie.. and was then stuck with 3.64 final drive ratio...You don't have to intentionally make life harder.
8 inch Toyota gears are from US $140 to 200 for all kinds of ratios brand new..
Less second hand.

In this day and age... well, I want to do an NA Duratec build and cram it into whatever I find by the time it's done, because I'm pretty certain that mixing and matching a bit can get to a motor that would be a lot of yuks per buck, and if I do it I'll post on here about it - yeah John I saw the flow numbers for the Volvo head you posted by those gents in Sweden but did you look at what they did to it? But anyway, back in world where people want cars to actually run on stage in this lifetime, massaging the Lima just a little bit and boosting it seems like such a duh-simple way to go.